It's sandwich time......

[soul60s]

I have my backing and my top done. Here are a few questions though.

Everywhere I read it says to have your backing about 3-4" bigger all around due to shifting during quilting. I only have about 2" all around. Is that going to be a problem? Should I just pin extra pins or spray and pin?

Has anyone sandwiched in sections due to space issues? Like the top half and then move it to be able to pin the bottom half.

When you quilt, how do you start and stop? I mean are you supposed to back stitch to lock it? How do you keep the stitches from coming loose at the beginning and/or end.

[bubba]

When I start, if I am not able to do it in the margin (extra outer edge) where it won't be seen, I just stitch several small stitches on top of one another, as they are next to impossible to get out. I don't ever backstitch when fmqing.

Two inches might be enough...sometimes nothing moves around on mine, but sometimes it does. You will just have to keep an eye on it.

Good luck!

[soul60s]

When I start, if I am not able to do it in the margin (extra outer edge) where it won't be seen, I just stitch several small stitches on top of one another, as they are next to impossible to get out. I don't ever backstitch when fmqing.

Two inches might be enough...sometimes nothing moves around on mine, but sometimes it does. You will just have to keep an eye on it.

Good luck!

Have you ever had an issue with table/floor space and had to pin it together in sections?

[HandsomeRyan]

Have you ever had an issue with table/floor space and had to pin it together in sections?

Are you quilting lines or free motion?

Especially for lines I think you need the whole thing basted because you want to work from the middle outward and you can't do that if half of the quilt isn't ready to be quilted.

Are you pinning or spray basting? Personally I prefer spray but different people like different methods. When you spray baste you can do that one section at a time but you generally baste the entire thing before the quilting begins.

As far as starting and stopping, I usually try to start in an area that will be covered by the binding. For middle sections my current machine has a "fix stitch" which makes multiple stitches in the same spot, on my old machine that did not have this I back stitched.

Good luck. Quilting is exciting but scary to get started.

[bubba]

I have not had an issue with anything other than my back and foot!!! For this reason, I can not climb around on the floor to pin/baste quilts like others do. I have two of the conference tables from Costco that I set up when it's time to sandwich them together and they work like a charm. We bought the folding ones, so they take up minimal space when not in use.

[soul60s]

I have a cheap Brother machine. The biggest feature it has is the removable table it came with and the threader thingy. Love my terminology huh? Thanks for the info though. I wasnt sure how to lock the threads. I dont have any spray so I thought I'd tape down the backing and pin the heck out of it. Lol I am sure blood will be drawn at some point.

[Iris Girl]

I pin baste because the spray bothers me. I have a 6 foot by 3 foot table I pin baste on.I use the curved safety pins not too big of ones and pin every 5 or 6 inches or my hands width apart. I pin in sections starting in the center and working out. Same as do when I am quilting. If I am doing FMQ or stencils I start in the middle if its lines I start on the top middle and alternate direction I sew. I try and start and stop in the margin that will be bound if I an't then I do a fix type stitch which is several small stitches in the same spot. Hope this helps. Remember don't get all crazy with it . Quilting is fun and should remain so, If you get to stressed get up and walk away for a bit. No quilt police and you are your own worst critic.

[starlover]

I've been taught to pull the bottom thread up to the top of the quit before you start the stitching. This keeps knots from forming on the back of your quilt. This youtube shows what I'm trying to explain at about the 2 : 05 minute mark. I also like to hide each of the thread tails inside the quilt, instead of snipping them off. This gives a little more security to the end of your quilting lines.
Free Motion Quilting, Beginner Tutorial 3 (of 4) - YouTube

[GinnyKNC]

I would watch carefully because if it's not all basted at the same time it may shift a lot on you and eat up that 2" overage. I've never tried to only sandwich half at a time, but I've had things shift even when the whole thing has been basted lol. Maybe it's just me.

[soul60s]

I pin baste because the spray bothers me. I have a 6 foot by 3 foot table I pin baste on.I use the curved safety pins not too big of ones and pin every 5 or 6 inches or my hands width apart. I pin in sections starting in the center and working out. Same as do when I am quilting. If I am doing FMQ or stencils I start in the middle if its lines I start on the top middle and alternate direction I sew. I try and start and stop in the margin that will be bound if I an't then I do a fix type stitch which is several small stitches in the same spot. Hope this helps. Remember don't get all crazy with it . Quilting is fun and should remain so, If you get to stressed get up and walk away for a bit. No quilt police and you are your own worst critic.

you are your own worst critic.....that I am! There is time for me to be a perfectionist when I get good. This is not that time. I know there will be tons of mistakes on it and I'm okay with that. It's a learning curve. Hubby just reminded me of a space I can pin this. The fun part is keeping the dogs away. I need to learn how to spin dog hair into yarn. I swear I sweep up a whole dog every few days. Who would have thought that very short haired dogs would shed so much!